The Hunt
by aciidiia
Summary: Angela Whitley and Cordelia Elswood go on a hunt by themselves, it goes exactly as expected. (Was originally part of a bigger story that I haven't actually written yet but it didn't make sense so now it's a smaller, slightly unrelated story.)


"How long are you going take? The Subordinate won't kill itself," There was a pause, "At least I don't think it will. It probably won't. Seems counterproductive." When no response- besides the way Angela 'subtly' buried her head further into her arms- was given, Delia knew she'd have to take drastic measures. She draped herself across the other girl's back, sighing dramatically, "Well, if you refuse to move I guess I'll just have to stay here with you. Lazing around while the subordinate grows stronger and-"

"Alright, alright! God, get out so I can get changed." Angela hissed, shoving Delia off her back and making her take a few steps back to steady herself. The other girl remained unfazed, as usual. Something that was both impressive and maddening. Delia beamed happily at the other girl before spinning on her heel and over-dramatically marching out, much like a soldier. Angela rolled her dark eyes before pushing herself up from the desk she had been napping on.

Sure, the life of a Rooder was exciting and it was nice to know you were doing good in the world (even if only a select few knew about it...) but was it too much to ask to get some peace and quiet?

Apparently it was because not even a minute later Delia was at her door, knocking loudly.

"Oh my God!" Angela exclaimed, "It's gonna take longer than 20 seconds to get changed, Jesus!" The knocking ceased and the door opened, the offender poking her head through the gap and smiling sheepishly.

"Mum wants to know if you're stocked up on holy water."

Angela paused, "I should have enough. How strong is the Subordinate?"

Delia mumbled something that sounded incredibly similar to, "I dunno" before retreating and closing the door. Angela was about to call after her before she heard Delia shout back, "I'll ask!"

Angela rolled her eyes and got back to the task at hand. She was pretty confident in her ability of not getting hit but Delia's family had insisted on taking extra precautions and made her wear armour. Which, she supposed, was understandable. Better safe than sorry, they had reasoned. The armour didn't mean that she could go Subordinate hunting in whatever outfit she wanted, she'd discovered. Heels were totally out of the question. Delia had told her a story about the time she hadn't had time to change and ended up spraining her ankle trying to evade an attack.

Angela had, of course, laughed in her face but Delia had laughed right along with her. Not the desired result but oh well.

She silently cursed the straps of the armour. Some were slightly beyond her reach and she had to practically snap her spine just to get to them while the buckles pinched at her skin, leaving red marks, barely visible against her already dark skin.

She had been in the process of dealing with one of the belts on her back when Delia strolled in, not even bothering to knock or announce her presence at all, carrying vials of extra holy water.

"Mum said that the Subordinate's pretty strong so we should probably bring- hey, do you need help?"

Angela didn't even get to respond before Delia began rearranging the straps to their correct places and tightening them accordingly. Angela huffed, "I could have done it myself…" She said bitterly.

Delia just smiled brightly and said, "I'm sure you could have, if you had longer arms."

"Wow, you're just- just _soooo_ witty." Angela stuck her tongue and took one of the extra vials of holy water, stuffing it into her bag. "Are we going or what?"

Delia brightened up, "We're leaving now. We just need to go activate the Portal Square and then we're off!"

Angela allowed herself to be pulled along by the taller girl, trying to keep up with her footfalls. She considered making conversation, if only to fill the silence, but decided against it. Instead reminiscing about how she had gotten herself involved in the first place.

She still found it hard to adjust to the "Rooder way of life", as Delia's aunt had jokingly called it. Angela's mother hadn't raised her to be a Rooder, and she had only embraced it when she met Delia. Actively going out and looking for fights seemed completely stupid in her opinion, and yet here she was. Simply because Delia had told her that she had no one to hunt with, as all the women in her family either hadn't come into their powers yet or had already grown out of them.

Angela, being the kindhearted and lovely girl that she was, initially told Delia to suck it up. Which, in retrospect, was definitely uncalled for but Angela had no interest in looking for murderers and killing them. Maybe killing was the wrong word. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what happened to Subordinates when they destroyed them. Delia didn't know either which was helpful and Delia's mother still intimidated the young girl.

Delia had never _actually_ asked Angela to help her, instead telling her about her encounters and showing off her injuries. Angela wasn't sure if that was Delia's way of asking for help or if she was just showing off but she had eventually caved and offered her help.

Lost in thought, Angela hadn't noticed they'd reached the Portal Square room (Yes, they had a whole room just for the Portal Square.) until her eyes had to adjust to the change in lighting. Delia's mother was already stood in the centre of the room, waiting for the pair.

Delia's mother looked completely different from her daughter. Where Delia was tall and slim, Maria was around the same height as Angela and was considerably more muscular. Likely from all the years spent training and fighting Subordinates. Even now, Angela could the muscle definition on the older woman's arms.

Angela could only assume Delia got her dark hair and bright eyes from her father, wherever he was. The women in Delia's family had a tendency to distance themselves from their male relatives. Angela had been confused but Delia simply told her that it was for their safety.

"Cordelia, Angela, are you two ready?" Maria's authoritative voice asked.

Angela was vaguely aware that her hand was still clasped within Delia's but she was too focused on the glowing marks on the floor to do anything about it. She only moved when Delia did, closer to the portal and to their next fight.

"Ready when you are, Angie."


End file.
